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Same here. I have had to change retail pharmacies several times because hold times and wait times were unacceptable. Walgreens and CVS were the worst offenders. I went to a private pharmacy in my area and they were wonderful but because they were non-preferred the drugs cost far more. I then tried Walmart pharmacy and they were great but not convenient to my home. So I went to HEB grocery and they have been wonderful. Wait times are minimal and they always get my prescriptions right.
I just picked up my one script at Walmart yesterday. Their automated system sent me a survey which I just did. They've been horrible for the last few months, I forgot how bad until the survey came.
They have a few days a week where they close from like 1:30 to 2:30 which is when I happen to be there most times. Yesterday I got there about 2pm; stood in line about 10 minutes, paid for my prescription then was told the pharmacist has to bag my order and hand it to me. Why would they do this to their pharmacists when they're over worked as it is? We (other customers and I) stood in the pharmacist line for 10 minutes. They asked if I had any questions, I said can you bag it so I can get out of here? lol On the survey I made sure to let them know I was unhappy with the original line as well as wasting the pharmacists time. I told them no one in the pharmacists line needed to speak to the pharmacist.
Why do they even bother with those surveys because it's obvious they don't care. I've lost count of the number of times I've complained about every single thing everyone has written above or told them their staff is overburdened. I was at an independent pharmacy first and left because no matter how many times my dr. wrote "daw" they gave me a generic. And a different generic all the time. As far as changing every month, or every prescription, imagine what savings a penny a pill would be to them, selling nationwide. As far as shopping around, I'm in a rural area and it can be 15 miles to the next pharmacy and I work (no insurance; no one gets enough hours to qualify) and pay for gas, so it's pointless to spend an hour and a gallon of gas or more trying to save a little bit. I would do it to get the proper pill, but good luck with that.
On my library list: Bottle of Lies, about generic drugs.
They could fill your Rx in a couple of minutes, but they make a lot more money if you walk around the store for an hour making impulse purchases.
Most of my Rx comes in a factory-sealed container. But it has to be taken off the shelf and put in a bag under the supervision of someone who has 6 years of college.
In Philippines, all drugs come individually packed, and you pay the same price per pill whether you buy one or 100. You give the counter-girl your Rx, tell her how many and whether you want generic, and she comes back in a minute and hands you the bag. Never a wait of over a few minutes. I pay 42c per tablet for Losartan.
Must be customary or subject to local regulations in the Phillipines. I use our local Walgreens (busy but they have excellent customer service and have been very helpful to us).
Most of our prescriptions there come in tabs that are counted out into bottles. My losartan costs me (ie, my $3.00 copay)
between 0.3 and 0.4 cents a tablet for a 90 day supply (90 100 mg tabs).
I just picked up my one script at Walmart yesterday. Their automated system sent me a survey which I just did. They've been horrible for the last few months, I forgot how bad until the survey came.
They have a few days a week where they close from like 1:30 to 2:30 which is when I happen to be there most times. Yesterday I got there about 2pm; stood in line about 10 minutes, paid for my prescription then was told the pharmacist has to bag my order and hand it to me. Why would they do this to their pharmacists when they're over worked as it is? We (other customers and I) stood in the pharmacist line for 10 minutes. They asked if I had any questions, I said can you bag it so I can get out of here? lol On the survey I made sure to let them know I was unhappy with the original line as well as wasting the pharmacists time. I told them no one in the pharmacists line needed to speak to the pharmacist.
I've gotten many prescriptions for my mother from one of our local Walmarts. Far as I could tell a phamacy tech bagged and handed me the scripts. But it seems Walmart has a policy or( perhaps it's a requirement but other pharmacies don't comply with it?) that if it is a new script, or there are black box warnings, possible interactions or other issues with a drug, the pharmacist will give the drug to the customer, along with the specific information about the drug, and ask if the customer has any questions. I've gone through that numerous times when I have picked up my mother's prescriptions, and find it a waste of time for both me and the pharmacist. I have to wait at the "pharmacist consultation"window for an available pharmacist to give me the scripts, and to tell me a bit of information that I can more easily get from reading the printed literature accompanying the prescription, or even the package insert.
Why do they even bother with those surveys because it's obvious they don't care. I've lost count of the number of times I've complained about every single thing everyone has written above or told them their staff is overburdened.
Surveys are a joke. Corp offices use them to bludgeon store managers for having BAD NUMBERS. They simply bounce the complaints back to the store managers with instruction improve the numbers, make the customers happy, even if it's outside the store manager's control. My favorite story is the one about the guy we gave a gift card to because he didn't like where the traffic light into the parking was located.
Truthfully you're probably better off calling or emailing the corp offices and making a complaint about the company, without mentioning any specific location. The minute you give a location they shrug it off as a store issue, not a company wide problem with their staffing policies.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cebuan
They could fill your Rx in a couple of minutes, but they make a lot more money if you walk around the store for an hour making impulse purchases.
Most of my Rx comes in a factory-sealed container. But it has to be taken off the shelf and put in a bag under the supervision of someone who has 6 years of college.
On average it takes 10 to 15 minutes to fill a prescription because of all the steps required. It's not like they take you script and 'just fill it'. It has to be scanned in, reviewed, insurance checked or entered, printed, filled (and if there are any problems with filling such as being short on the pills or not having a certain mfg the process has to be gone through again), verified after being filled, and finally sold. Not to mention the customer in front of you might have just dropped off eight or nine prescriptions for a couple of hundred pills each and they are sticking around, shopping in the store while waiting for their name to be called. They aren't going to bump your rx ahead of that patient's multiple rx just because you only need thirty pills.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wit-nit
Yesterday when I went to pick up an r/x there was one lady answering the phone, waiting on drive-in customers and trying to wait on in store customers all by herself. It was a 20 minute wait. Not only is it bad service but disrespectful to waiting customers.The one pharmacist just stood there in back looking out his little window.
I heard it's budget cutting and they are trying to work with minimal employees to keep their profits up and appease their rich shareholders.
The one pharmacist was probably busy filling an inch thick stack of prescriptions by himself because his one tech/cashier was too busy to help him.
Quote:
Originally Posted by markg91359
My observation is that pharmacies need to hire more pharmacy techs. However, there are issues here. The local community colleges only train so many and working conditions in many pharmacies result in high attrition rates for new employees.
Part of it is many states have laws pertaining how many employees are allowed in the pharmacy area per each pharmacist. More techs require more pharmacist, and pharmacist command a hefty chunk of the payroll budget.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CrownVic95
With staffing, I think we're seeing the same thing we see throughout retail - labor hours cut to the bone in the quest to please shareholders.
Exactly, and using fewer pharmacist can make a big difference to the bottom line.
Quote:
Originally Posted by xz2y
Running out of meds seems to be a big problem these days. They always give me a couple tabs and then I have to go back again the next day. Pain. I wonder what is going on with drug shortages? In my case it was amoxicillin, certainly nothing exotic.
It's somewhat related to the staffing issue in that it's part and parcel of trying to run a leaner store/company. They don't want to keep a lot of money tied up in merchandise/drugs so they order as little as they think they can get away with. I know that our ordering system can sometimes take weeks to adjust to a sudden increase in demand for a particular item or drug. It's not just pharmacies doing this either. I've noticed lately that when I go the grocery store before they get their weekly delivery, the shelves are absolutely full of holes everywhere with product that has sold out.
in Florida:
The final rule sets the pharmacy technician-to-pharmacist ratio at 2:1 but permits a 4:1 ratio based on public safety considerations and availability of at least two Certified Pharmacy Technicians.
Post #25--yes, that's strange but I've been noticing it at the grocery stores too. The shelves will be empty and I keep wondering what's going on. Another thing is that of the three grocery stores we have, two have stopped carrying several of my dairy free foods. It matters because I am allergic to dairy. If I ask about it, they refuse to order it.
As for the pharmacies, we used to have more pharmacies to choose form. Now CVS seems to be gobbling them all up. We used to have Rite Aid but I don't know what happened to that. Before that, Rite Aid was something else and we liked it very much. Now the only choices are CVS, which I will not use, and Walgreens, where they are nice but they told me they have to take whatever generic is sent to them and they have no control over it.
They keep running out and can only give me a few pills. Then I get home and find out they are the WRONG pills. They are the generic that doesn't work. Next time I'm going to look on the bag before I take it home and open it--I finally found the name of the generic, printed in tiny, light print on the bag. It takes some looking to find it. It's not so hard to see on the actual bottle but by then you've torn the bag open. I don't know about their return policy but if I've opened the bag, they will probably assume I've opened the bottle too since it's the easy to open-pull off top.
What I'm getting at, is from now on, I am going to stand there in the store and find that light colored tiny printed generic name on the bag and if it's wrong, I'm not paying for it. I want my money back if they've given me the generic that doesn't work.
Why do they even bother with those surveys because it's obvious they don't care. I've lost count of the number of times I've complained about every single thing everyone has written above or told them their staff is overburdened. I was at an independent pharmacy first and left because no matter how many times my dr. wrote "daw" they gave me a generic. And a different generic all the time.
Walmart is actually pretty good with sending the answers to the store manager. I've complained on a few surveys when my store remodeled and after, the grocery manager did a horrible job restocking a handful of items I regularly purchase. The store manager actually called me after one of them. I never saw those products out of stock after that
Quote:
Originally Posted by NYC refugee
As far as changing every month, or every prescription, imagine what savings a penny a pill would be to them, selling nationwide. As far as shopping around, I'm in a rural area and it can be 15 miles to the next pharmacy and I work (no insurance; no one gets enough hours to qualify) and pay for gas, so it's pointless to spend an hour and a gallon of gas or more trying to save a little bit. I would do it to get the proper pill, but good luck with that.
On my library list: Bottle of Lies, about generic drugs.
Unfortunately, for you, you're screwed. You can't even do mail order with your prescription insurance's pharmacy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Travelassie
I've gotten many prescriptions for my mother from one of our local Walmarts. Far as I could tell a phamacy tech bagged and handed me the scripts. But it seems Walmart has a policy or( perhaps it's a requirement but other pharmacies don't comply with it?) that if it is a new script, or there are black box warnings, possible interactions or other issues with a drug, the pharmacist will give the drug to the customer, along with the specific information about the drug, and ask if the customer has any questions. I've gone through that numerous times when I have picked up my mother's prescriptions, and find it a waste of time for both me and the pharmacist. I have to wait at the "pharmacist consultation"window for an available pharmacist to give me the scripts, and to tell me a bit of information that I can more easily get from reading the printed literature accompanying the prescription, or even the package insert.
No one was handed their prescription by a tech. Everyone had to wait for a pharmacist. It's something new, it's been the last 2 months that I've refilled my script
Quote:
Originally Posted by xz2y
Yeah, I have the same issue with non-English-speaking techs and pharmacists. Easy to make mistakes if English isn't your 1st language on complicated prescription drug names.
Running out of meds seems to be a big problem these days. They always give me a couple tabs and then I have to go back again the next day. Pain. I wonder what is going on with drug shortages? In my case it was amoxicillin, certainly nothing exotic.
The CVS my daughter used to use was notorious for this, they would only give her a few tabs telling her to come back in a few days. They apparently had a store policy where they only gave 7 pills even if they had more they could give you.
What ticked me off the most was when we filled the compazine, they'd give us the manufacturer that doesn't work for me and one she's allergic to. After the 1st time they did this, I learned to check it while there. I'd hand it back to them, they'd fill it in a few days with the one by Mylan but only give her a partial script saying she's out of refills. How did it go from me handing them back a full bottle, to them handing me a partial fill? Some how they were eating pills in the system.
Quote:
Originally Posted by in_newengland
Post #25--yes, that's strange but I've been noticing it at the grocery stores too. The shelves will be empty and I keep wondering what's going on. Another thing is that of the three grocery stores we have, two have stopped carrying several of my dairy free foods. It matters because I am allergic to dairy. If I ask about it, they refuse to order it.
As for the pharmacies, we used to have more pharmacies to choose form. Now CVS seems to be gobbling them all up. We used to have Rite Aid but I don't know what happened to that. Before that, Rite Aid was something else and we liked it very much. Now the only choices are CVS, which I will not use, and Walgreens, where they are nice but they told me they have to take whatever generic is sent to them and they have no control over it.
They keep running out and can only give me a few pills. Then I get home and find out they are the WRONG pills. They are the generic that doesn't work. Next time I'm going to look on the bag before I take it home and open it--I finally found the name of the generic, printed in tiny, light print on the bag. It takes some looking to find it. It's not so hard to see on the actual bottle but by then you've torn the bag open. I don't know about their return policy but if I've opened the bag, they will probably assume I've opened the bottle too since it's the easy to open-pull off top.
What I'm getting at, is from now on, I am going to stand there in the store and find that light colored tiny printed generic name on the bag and if it's wrong, I'm not paying for it. I want my money back if they've given me the generic that doesn't work.
Best suggestion is to know the brand of the one you like to ask if that's what they gave you before they hand you the bag or yes, they will see it's been opened and most likely won't take it back
What ticked me off the most was when we filled the compazine, they'd give us the manufacturer that doesn't work for me and one she's allergic to. After the 1st time they did this, I learned to check it while there. I'd hand it back to them, they'd fill it in a few days with the one by Mylan but only give her a partial script saying she's out of refills. How did it go from me handing them back a full bottle, to them handing me a partial fill? Some how they were eating pills in the system.
I can't take big pills and every time I go no matter what my doctor tells them to fill they fill it with the biggest pill they can find. And give me attitude when I ask for what my doctor called in.
The only answer... try to get off as many meds as possible.
My local chain grocery store pharmacy does an excellent job. I feel sorry for them though as they've been provided with a cracker box in which to work. Don't know how they manage.
Seems like nearly everywhere is understaffed these days. Doesn't help that a lot of people these days just don't show up for work. I hear it all the time as an explanation. This doesn't give management an opportunity to cover.
Finally a comment about medication. This spring and summer I had the mother of all work-ups - the whole nine yards because I noticed my toes were looking a little purple. Every test came back good but along the way I couldn't believe how many doctors seemed to think it was necessary to prescribe for me, apparently just to do something for me. LOL. Some of the younger ones were pretty militant about it and I'm still in a power struggle with a cardiac employee who thinks I need to take a statin for preventative measures even though my cholesterol is in the healthy levels and the plaque build-up in my veins is at a low level. No thanks.
Sometimes I wonder if there isn't an unnecessarily large crowd at the pharmacy. (Present company excluded, of course.)
By the way, I have something called purple toe syndrome. I needed to spend all that money to find that out? They don't do anything for it unless it hurts then they give you another drug.
I'm grumpy about this and realize that overall we have good health care. It's just that sometimes I think it's overkill at my age.
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They are the generic that doesn't work. Next time I'm going to look on the bag before I take it home and open it--I finally found the name of the generic, printed in tiny, light print on the bag. It takes some looking to find it. It's not so hard to see on the actual bottle but by then you've torn the bag open. I don't know about their return policy but if I've opened the bag, they will probably assume I've opened the bottle too since it's the easy to open-pull off top. 
